1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape printer capable of printing a text such as characters input via a keyboard on an elongated tape to thereby produce the tape with the characters printed thereon and, more particularly, to a tape printer that is capable of printing a cut mark used as a standard for cutting a tape at a desired position on the tape and producing, depending on the purpose, a tape with characters that is formed in a desired width size.
2. Description of the Related Art
A tape printer has heretofore been proposed, wherein a plurality of kinds of tape cassettes with tapes having mutually-different tape widths incorporated therein can be selectively used, and a tape cassette with a tape having a desired tape width incorporated therein is selected from the plurality of kinds of tape cassettes to thereby produce a tape with characters printed thereon.
In this type of tape printer, an operator prepares a tape cassette with a tape incorporated therein, which has a width nearest the width of a tape with characters to be produced and sets the prepared tape cassette to the tape printer so as to print characters or the like on the tape, thereby producing the tape with the characters printed thereon.
However, the widths of the tapes incorporated into the respective tape cassettes are classified into several types (about five) alone. Therefore, the intended tape having the width coincident with the desired width of the tape that the operator attempts to produce, is very few. In contrast with this, the tape having the width coincident with the desired tape width is hardly found under the present condition.
A problem arises where the tape referred to above does not exist in the tapes. That is, characters or the like are first printed on a tape having a width greater than a desired tape width to thereby produce the tape with the characters printed thereon. It is thereafter necessary to cut the produced tape with scissors or the like so as to have a desired tape width. Thus, since the conventional tape printer does not have a function for printing a cut mark used as a standard for cutting the tape, it is difficult to cut the tape in a desired tape width, thus creating difficulties in producing the tape with the characters, which tape has the desired tape width.